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September 21, 2008
A new Act of Parliament for Public Libraries
The jungle drums are beating over the weekend to say that the purpose of the DCMS review is to create a new Act of Parliament for public libraries
What a waste of time that will be.
The last Act, which was written in 1964, is perfectly ok. The problem is that highly paid local government officials and civil servants simply take no notice of what it says. Instead of following the common sense guidance it offers, they argue like eight year olds about the meaning of the words.
Unless that attitude changes there is no point in a new act and no point in wasting time talking about what it might say.
We went through all that on the occasion of the last Select Committee Hearings.
More talk and no action -- is just bad government. We don't want Acts of Parliament in place of decent public sector management. Parliament has more important things to worry about.
Posted by Perkins at September 21, 2008 5:57 PM
Comments
Apropos of this Act,why doesn't anybody make use of sec.10(1)(a) which effectively gives anyone the right to make a complaint about public library services and compels a response from the Secretary of State ?
And while on the subject, what about everyone drawing the Minister's attention to sec.7(1)which is mandatory ?
Posted by: postumus at September 22, 2008 7:32 PM
We might see a 'Libraries Board for England'. That was an idea that floated for a while and, I understood, had the interest of high up folk in No 10. It would replace MLA, ACL, SCL, DCMS, CILIP, TRA etc
But even that depends upon what it is set up to do and who is in it. If it is the same mob who generally sit on all or several of the above mentioned committees, then it will be a waste of energy. There has to be a flood tide.
Posted by: perkins at September 23, 2008 12:02 AM